"I-I can't do th-that do you," Sven protested weakly, sniffling.
"You're not. I'm doing it to myself. It's not your choice if I help or not. You didn't ask me; I volunteered."
"B-B-But why?"
"Like I've said at least three times already: I'm loyal to you. I'll do whatever you ask of me, you just have to trust me."
"I-I do... Tack, Burt..."
"I didn't know you spoke Swedish," Burt said as they walked down the hallways together.
"It's my native language..." Sven admitted. "I speak English more often now that I'm the leader of the Toppats, since they don't speak Swedish... I really speak Swedish when I'm feeling a lot of emotion... Sadness, happiness, disgust, anger... Though I tend to speak Swedish a lot when I'm nervous..."
"I'm learning Swedish, maybe you could help," Burt suggested.
Sven blushed, then hid it with another sniff so Burt would think that it's just since he was crying.
"If you want that..." The Swede felt a smile creep onto his face.
He got to spend more time with Burt!
Why do I want to spend more time with him..?
You want to spend all the time you can with him because you want to get to know him better. He's your crush.
Crush?! No way! I'm not in love with Burt, I just met him! He's only being formal, he has no feelings for me!
"Lost in thought again?" Burt startled him out of his mind.
"Y-Yeah, sorry... I do that a lot..." Sven bit his lip.
WHY AM I EMBARRASSED?!
Because Burt, your obvious crush, caught you doing something he doesn't. It's embarrassing to you and not anyone else because you want to be what he wants you to be. You want to be an obvious target for him. You want to be screaming to him while everyone else is murmuring. You want him to return your feelings.
Sven shook his head.
"If I may ask, how did you join the Toppats?" Burt asked suddenly.
"Oh, well... I was originally working with my whole family as we struggled to earn a place in this world... Then the Toppats came and killed them all... I don't know why I was different to them, but they didn't kill me... They recruited me."
"Oh... That sounds... Awful..." Burt mumbled. "Do you have any bad grudges in the Toppat clan?"
"I hated everybody at first. Nobody could get close to me without being scratched like an angry cat. But... There was one person... They never left me, no matter how many times I pushed them away and shouted at them and bit them and scratched them... And eventually, I warmed up to them, and even now we're still best friends... And we were just kids back then, too."
"Who were they?"
"Carol Cross."
YOU ARE READING
The New Toppat (Curtisson)
Fiksi PenggemarThe government is on their tail. Sven's so overworked and stressed, and nothing can help him. Everybody's assuring him but none are getting to him. He believes that it's all his fault because he failed to be the leader they thought he would be. He i...
